ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® FAQ

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Creating an Account & Adding/Deleting a Property

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What does using Portfolio Manager cost?

There is no cost associated with using Portfolio Manager or requesting aggregated or nonaggregated data from SDG&E. Additionally, no fees are charged for ENERGY STAR certification, however, verification of your building data by a licensed professional will likely involve some cost.

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Can more than one person have access to the Portfolio Manager account?

When setting up your organization’s account, you can use your own contact information or general contact information for your organization. Whether you use individual or organizational information, we recommend only one person be responsible for uploading data each month to prevent inconsistencies or duplicate data entry. However, it is advisable to have at least two or more people within your organization capable of accessing the account (i.e., know the log-in credentials) in case the person in charge of reporting utility data leaves your organization.

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Can I add properties to an existing account?

Portfolio Manager is designed so that your account can have multiple properties. If you need guidance on updating data for an existing property in Portfolio Manager, or are not sure what you should do with the existing property or properties in your account, please contact a Benchmarking Coach.

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How do I delete a property?

Deleting a property is permanent, so be sure that you want to delete the property before you begin this process. Go to the “My Portfolio” tab. Under the box with the list of properties in your account, chose the name of the property to delete. Once you go to the “Property Level” view, click the “Details” tab. Scroll to the bottom of the page where you will see the button “Delete this Property” in the left corner of the screen. Note the information bulletin that states “deleting your property is permanent and cannot be undone.” If you are sure you want to delete it, click “Delete this Property.” A pop-up will appear confirming your decision. If you are certain, click “Continue.” If you are not sure, click “Cancel.” You will go back to the “My Portfolio” tab and should see a green notification box at the top of the screen saying that you have deleted the property you selected from your portfolio.

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What property types can I input into Portfolio Manager?

Portfolio Manager is a powerful tool and contains more than 80 property types to choose from when setting up your property. Download the list of Portfolio Manager property types, definitions and use details (PDF). Choose a property type that best describes how most of your building functions.

If you are unsure of the most appropriate property type for your building(s), please contact a Benchmarking Coach.

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Requesting Data from SDG&E

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How can I request my energy data from SDG&E?

There are two methods to request data from SDG&E. You can either choose to request nonaggregated or aggregated data.

Non-Aggregated Data

Nonaggregated data requires you to share your property with SDG&E. To do so, you must have access to all meters, their account numbers and latest bill amounts. If this data is unavailable from your tenants, you can choose to request aggregated data from SDG&E.

You can access instructions for requesting nonaggregated data from SDG&E.

Aggregated Data

You can request whole-building energy usage information directly from SDG&E, providing you meet certain account thresholds. For commercial properties with no residential accounts, you must have three or more active utility accounts to request aggregated data from SDG&E. If you have one or more residential accounts, then you must have five or more active utility accounts of any type to request aggregated data from SDG&E.

You can access instructions for requesting aggregated data from SDG&E.

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Does SDG&E update the info every month if I give them full access?

Yes. If you choose to share your property and meters with SDG&E for nonaggregated data, SDG&E will update data monthly. After SDG&E accepts your request to share your property and meters, SDG&E’s web service will upload the last 12-14 months of meter data. Thereafter, SDG&E will update monthly meter data 2-4 weeks after each new bill posts.

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SDG&E rejected my nonaggregated data request. What do I do now?

The first step to resolving a rejected SDG&E nonaggregated data request is to review your notifications to see why your meter was rejected. The most common rejections include “last bill amount provided did not match our records” or “meter number not found.”

Errors involving incorrect billing information typically occur when you attempt to sync during the middle to the end of your billing cycle. At this point, SDG&E’s system may have generated a new bill for the next billing cycle, so your latest bill doesn’t necessarily match SDG&E’s system.

To avoid this issue, attempt to sync with SDG&E within one to two weeks of receiving your latest SDG&E bill. If you are still having issues with the system accepting your latest bill amount, contact a Benchmarking Coach to help troubleshoot any issues.

If you receive a notification that your meter has been rejected for another reason, contact a Benchmarking Coach.

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ENERGY STAR® Certification

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How do I know if I’m eligible for ENERGY STAR Certification?

If your property is an eligible property type and has the required data uploaded, you will see your ENERGY STAR score on the property summary tab in the upper right corner. If you have an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher, you are eligible to apply for ENERGY STAR certification. See the guide “How to Apply for ENERGY STAR Certification.”

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What is the benefit of ENERGY STAR certification?

ENERGY STAR-certified buildings represent superior energy performance and are recognized nationwide as examples of energy efficiency best practices. On average, ENERGY STAR buildings use 35 percent less energy than similar buildings. They also generate more income compared to other buildings, are occupied 4 percent more than traditional buildings and offer many other benefits, including increased marketing potential. Currently, there are more than 25,000 ENERGY STAR-certified buildings.

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AB 802

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What is AB 802?

California Assembly Bill (AB) 802 (Williams) was signed into law in October 2015. As part of AB 802, utilities must provide monthly, whole-building utility information to commercial and multifamily building owners upon request as of January 1, 2017.

As of January 1, 2017, all utilities must provide monthly, whole-building utility information to building owners upon request.

Currently, the regulations regarding the methods for providing this information, as well as the timelines for doing so, are in the rulemaking process and not final. Even so, if building owners meet certain aggregation thresholds, they can request data from their local utility.

For commercial properties with no residential accounts, you must have three or more active utility accounts to request aggregated data from your utility. If you have one or more residential accounts, then you must have five or more active utility accounts of any type to request aggregated data from your utility.

You can access information on aggregated data from SDG&E. If you need assistance in preparing your aggregated data request, contact a Benchmarking Coach

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Am I required to benchmark my property under AB 802?

Currently, AB 802 is undergoing the rulemaking process, with its adoption anticipated at the July 2017 California Energy Commission business meeting.

While the regulations aren’t finalized, all commercial buildings greater than 50,000 square feet will be required to benchmark and disclose their energy usage to the Energy Commission. Multifamily buildings that are over 50,000 square feet and have 17 or more units also will be required to benchmark and disclose their energy usage. Any exemptions to these requirements are unknown now.

It is expected that commercial buildings will be required to report their energy usage to the Energy Commission starting June 2018 and that commercial building data will be publicly disclosed starting in 2019. Multifamily buildings are projected to start reporting in June 2019, with data disclosure beginning in 2020.

If you already know you will be required to benchmark under AB 802 and are interested in getting ahead of regulatory requirements, contact a Benchmarking Coach to get started in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

This is a project of the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, which is partially funded by California utility customers and administered by San Diego Gas & Electric® (SDG&E) under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. The Center for Sustainable Energy® is a member of the collaborative. Trademarks are property of their respective owners.